1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to covers for seating surfaces and for seatbelts. More particularly, the present multi-purpose seat protector provides a portable covering that is adaptable for use on a wide variety of surfaces upon which people sit or lie. The present seatbelt protector provides a portable covering that prevents seatbelt stains.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many people exercise at private health clubs or gyms. During their workout, many of these people sit or lie on specialized benches and/or seats. As a courtesy to other health club members, most people carry with them a towel that they place on each bench prior to sitting or lying down. The towel absorbs sweat from the person as he or she works out and keeps the bench clean and dry for the next person. Typically, a person's workout towel is about the same size as a typical bath towel. Thus, it is usually just large enough to cover the portion of the bench against which the person's torso rests. It is usually not large enough to cover the entire bench.
Many of the benches in health clubs and gyms include inclined or upright seatback portions. When a person places his or her workout towel on an inclined seatback, the towel tends to slide off the bench. Even if the person can get the towel to remain on the bench long enough for him or her to mount the bench, the towel usually slides off when the person rises between successive sets of a given exercise on the same bench. Thus, in between each set the person has to reposition the towel upon the bench. When a person places his or her workout towel on an upright seatback, the person has to drape it over the top of the seatback to keep it from sliding off the bench. The extra material that hangs over the back of the bench generally prevents the towel from covering the entire seatback, let alone the seat portion of the bench.
Many health club patrons leave the health club after a workout without showering or changing clothes. Many of these people drive their cars (or ride in another's car) from the gym to their next destination. Because they have not showered or changed clothes, many of these people transfer sweat from their skin and their workout clothes to their car seats and seatbelts. This sweat tends to stain the upholstery and the seatbelt. Many of these same people later sit on the same sweaty upholstery and fasten the same sweaty seatbelt after having changed into clean clothes. The sweat on the upholstery and/or the seatbelt tends to transfer to the person's clean clothes and leave unsightly stains.
Many people who participate in water sports, such as swimming and surfing, drive their cars (or ride in another's car) shortly after exiting the water and without changing into dry clothes. These people tend to transfer water to the upholstery and seatbelt. The water tends to stain the upholstery and the seatbelt. The staining is often worse when the water is salty or chlorinated. When someone wearing clean clothes later sits on the stained upholstery and fastens the stained seatbelt, the stains often transfer to the person's clean clothes.
Many people park their cars in direct sunlight. On a hot day, a car does not need to sit very long in the sun before the upholstery becomes too hot to touch, especially when the windows are rolled up. If a person returns to such a hot car wearing shorts, it can be impossible for the person to sit down on the hot upholstery without being burned on the back of his or her legs.
In order to protect their upholstery after a workout, or right after coming out of the water, or to protect their skin on a hot day, people might cover their car seat with a towel before they get into the car. However, the typical towel is too small to cover both the horizontal and vertical portions of the seat. Second, to cover the vertical portion of the seat the person must use friction between his or her back and the seat to keep the towel in place. The towel is not large enough to be draped over the headrest such that it hangs down and covers the entire seat. If the person leans forward, the towel falls and bunches up at the small of the person's back, which not only leaves the seatback uncovered, but can also be quite uncomfortable for the person.
Some people might use a larger towel that covers both the horizontal and vertical portions of the seat. Such a large towel can be draped over the headrest so that it will not fall down and bunch up when the person leans forward. However, when the towel is draped over the headrest, the loosely hanging corners of the towel tend to flap in the breeze that is created as the car is driven with the windows down. The flapping corners may hit the person in the side of the head, which is not only annoying but can also be a major distraction and lead to unsafe driving.
Protective coverings for automobile seating surfaces are well-known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,676,376, 5,709,431 and 6,481,793 all disclose protective automobile seat covers. Each of these covers, however, is constructed of plastic and is intended to be used only once or a few times and then disposed of. Thus, none of these covers are well adapted for use on surfaces other than vehicle seats, such as workout benches. Furthermore, none of these covers is adapted to provide insulation between an extremely hot car seat and a person's bare skin. A protective seat covering that is versatile enough to be used both to cover a workout bench and a vehicle seat, durable enough to be used, washed and reused many times, and insulating enough to be useful on hot days would be of great benefit to a wide variety of people.
At least one seatbelt sleeve is currently available to consumers. Allison Corp. of Livingston, N.J. distributes a “seat belt comforter” under the trademark AutoLogix™. This seat belt comforter provides a soft, cushioned surface to bear against the seatbelt wearer. The comforter is designed to increase the wearer's comfort and reduce chafing. The comforter is constructed of a material that is not particularly absorbent. Therefore, it is not particularly effective at preventing sweat from transferring from the wearer to the seatbelt. A protective seatbelt covering that is absorbent and durable enough to be used, washed and reused many times would be of great benefit to people who, for example, work out regularly, or perspire excessively, or enjoy water sports.